Half of England and Wales at risk of extreme drought, report warns
Nearly half the households in England and Wales live in areas that are at risk of extreme drought, according to a report by the Environment Agency.
By Ben Leach, Telegraph.Co.Uk, 29 Dec 2008
More than 24 million people, and 10.5 million households, have less water available per person than the population of Morocco and Egypt.
The report, due to be published in the New Year, is the most comprehensive yet on the state of water resources in the UK.
It concludes the huge pressure on water supplies from large and wealthy populations in areas with relatively low rainfall means that nearly half of England and Wales now live in areas of "water stress".
It warns that many rivers, lakes, estuaries and aquifers are already being drained so low that there is a danger to wildlife and a risk to public supplies in dry years.
"Water stress", which is where supply might not keep up with demand, is a problem usually associated with parched regions such as north Africa and the Middle East.
The agency is expected to highlight the report to lobby for increases in the number of homes with water meters to reduce demand.
It will cite the fact the average water use in the UK is 148 litres per person per day and as high as 170 litres in the south-east of England.
This compares to the government target of 130.
The agency is also expected to argue for a new system of regulation.
Under this plan, companies would be allowed to earn more profit if they reduce demand, a system pioneered in California and already being considered by some UK energy companies.
Trevor Bishop, the agency's head of water resource policy, said: "We [will] have 10-20 million extra people, we have got climate change; all the things we have done in the past will get less and less certain and more vulnerable, so what we're doing is trying to manage demands down.
"What [water stress] means for us is the risk of extreme drought and the infrastructure we rely on to supply our water resources would come under stress."
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